Friday, May 30, 2008

Last night we had a scare--the kids were watching Scooby Doo in the theater room, and like typical kids they weren't watching the movie at all, just running around and jumping on the furniture. Well, apparently Thing Three (who is seven) fell and scraped his face against the sofa. He didn't come crying to us or anything, so we never knew it happened.

Cut to bedtime, when we are tucking the kids in, and I see Thing Three brushing his teeth in the bathroom and he's getting a black eye. I tell him to come over so I can look at it, and Hubby comes to see, too, and he closes his eye so we can have a look and his eyelid is completely laid open. It was cut all the way across. In a word, it was gross.Unfortunately his brother's knee-jerk reaction was to recoil and make a horrified noise, so naturally it put Thing Three in a panic.

That's the first thing I learned about treating boo-boos: if they THINK it's bad, they will freak out. You always have to play down the injury, or you'll have a panicked kid on your hands and that is not a good thing.

I whisked him downstairs and cleaned the cut and put neosporin on it, it was late so we put him to bed. Luckily I got into the dr. at 9:15 this morning, and she said he was lucky it was cut in the crease. It will heal better, and he doesn't need stitches, Thank Heaven.I just dropped him off at school. Hopefully it will heal all right.

I noticed the Dr. asked him random questions about the injury: what movie was he watching at the time? What sort of sofa was it? etc. etc. She was probably making sure it wasn't a "story." I'm sure she's seen enough abused kids to need to ask those sorts of questions. Sad.

So the baby is down, and I'm going to take advantage of the time to get some writing in. I've narrowed it down to Mexico and Guatemala, for my lost city. I'm thinking Cholula. No idea why. Geographically, it works for what I want to do plotwise. We'll see how it turns out!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

I just got back from the Dr--I have a sinus infection and it's affected one of my eyes. It looks like I have pinkeye...but I don't. But she gave me antibiotics and drops...just in case. FUN.

I didn't get much sleep, because I had a gunky eye and it was bugging me. So I'm tired. I stayed up until midnight writing, anyway, because I'm on a roll with my story.

I'm just stuck on some geography. BIG TIME stuck. It's all supposition, and I'm looking at maps of "supposed" locations for this lost city, and some people say it's in Mexico, some in Guatemala, and some in North America. I'm leaning towards Mexico, because it fits the story better. But hey, it's MY fiction story, so I can "suppose" all I want, right? ;-)

Okay, here's a funny for you. I forgot about it until I saw the poem again as I was cleaning out the kids cubbies for school.

Let me just say that I am a very sarcastic person. (I'm sure you haven't guessed that.) See? I can't help it. Sarcasm is just my personality. And my kids are sarcastic, because of it. ESPECIALLY Thing Two, who just turned nine. He is my little walking Thesaurus, whose vocabulary is way advanced for a third grader. Sometimes he sounds like a talking robot. But I think a wide vocabulary is a good thing. But sarcasm coming from a nine-year old? Not such a good thing. He's sarcastic to a fault. An example:

Me:Did you clean you room, Thing Two?

Thing Two:No. I just pitched everything out the window.We had a little "discussion" last month about his sarcasm. I told him it wasn't polite to be sarcastic to people. He asked me what sarcasm was, so I told him. He found the concept very interesting, now that he had a "label" for his brand of humor.

Cut to the Mother's Day Tea at the school. All the kids in Thing Two's class had written poems for their mothers, and they were encouraged to read them in front of the whole class of moms and kids. Thing Two proudly rose and recited the following, which he'd written by himself:

MOMLovingSmartHelpfulCaringNiceFunnyJoyfulA great cookVery Clean and OrganizedThe Best Mom there Ever Was

I was tickled and all warm-fuzzied out, of course, until he sat down, and amidst all the clapping, leaned over and whispered to me:

"You know that last part, about you being 'very clean and organized?' That was sarcasm. Do you think they got it? I thought it was pretty funny."

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

I'm going to see the Dr. today. Last night the "demon voices" were sounding in my lungs again when I was breathing. It wasn't fun trying to fall asleep. So, I suppose it's time to get antibiotics. And it's making me GRUMPY.

I'm getting back into the grind of things, more or less. I suspect Hubby spoiled the baby while I was gone, because the baby seems to "expect" certain things of me now. For instance, he expects me to share anything I'm eating with him. Um, NO WAY. I'm sick. He also expects me to pick him up if he whimpers. He never whimpered before. Sorry on that one, too. But my favorite: he says "PIZZA!" if you have pizza and he wants it. Lots of it. BAD. Nice one, Hubby. Like I want to change a poopy diaper after he's eaten THAT crap.

And yesterday, he bit me. Hard. I have two puncture marks where he broke the skin, and he bit me through a shirt. I was completely taken by surprise. I was sorting the clean laundry into piles, and he was crawling around, and pulling the clothes and tossing them over his head and making a mess of the piles. And even though I finally firmly told him "no," he kept at it. So I blocked his way, and he got really frustrated, and buried his face in the back of my arm, to try and push through. I was playing with him, and suddenly, I get this searing pain in my arm. I realized what he'd done, and I pulled him off me and looked him in the face and said firmly "NO, don't bite!" He looked at me, his lip started quivering and his eyes teared up, and he let out a long wail and pushed away from me. So I set him down and let him wail, and he finally crawled back up and snuggled on my lap and I held him.

When my kids bit me, they were, well, more like TWO years old. So I bit them back. Not super hard, but enough for them to understand that biting hurts others and they shouldn't do it.

I wasn't about to "bite back" my twelve-month old. He wouldn't have understood. So, it broke my heart, but I told him no and wouldn't comfort him when he got upset over it. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do for him. He's just so cute, you know? But he CANNOT bite people.

Granted, he has molars coming in (thank HEAVEN one finally broke through last night) and frankly, I am wondering if the bite was even malicious at all, since he chews his blanket like there's no tomorrow, and has to be biting everything that is inanimate, but it really shocked me.

Thing One's first Fastpitch game is tonight. And she's sick like me. I may have her just sit it out. I'll call the coach and tell him. That will be fun. At least it's not an "official" game--just with the other team they split the team into. Team 1 vs Team 2. We'll see.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Well, I survived my sister's wedding. Don't get me wrong, the wedding was perfect--it came together and everything turned out beautifully...

...except I was suffering from the most heinous head/chest cold I've probably had in YEARS. Hacking cough, head full of cement, fever, aches...you name it.

Nice timing, huh?

I owe my survival to liberal amounts of cold medicine and Advil--I don't think I would have made it otherwise. But it was also so nice to reconnect with family members I haven't seen in ages--it's been far too long.

My sister was the beautiful bride, her husband-to-be was adorably nervous (he forgot his written-down vows in the van) and the outdoor wedding, which took place in a copse of trees, was the perfect setting: peaceful and tranquil. The mosquitos even seemed to stay away, which sort of miffed me, since I rubbed practically all the female members of the wedding party (including myself) down with copious amounts of stinky bug repellent wipes. (Or maybe that's WHY they stayed away? We'll never know.)

I only had a few mishaps--I wore fabulous cobalt shoes with spiky heels--that absolutely KILLED my feet after 15 minutes and the heels kept getting stuck between the boards of the lodge. (Each time I stopped walking and cursed out loud my brother knew to gallantly lean down and rescue my heel out of the board cracks.)Oh, and I got to re-pierce the Maid of Honor's ears, which wasn't a fun experience for both of us, for sure. (Apparently she hadn't worn earings in forever and her holes had closed up. OUCH.)

Then there was the little matter of me forgetting to wear a slip, (and I was wearing a white sundress with a blue spray of flowers on it) but I'll just chalk that down to being absentminded ol' me. I tried to stay out of the sunlight and walked with my knees locked together. It was all good.

But the piece de resistance-- we made the unfortunate choice of picking a MEXICAN restaurant for dinner the night before. I'll let you make you own deductions as to why. (Need a hint? Picture me, speeding to Walmart at 7am the morning of the wedding with scary hair and one eye open to buy GAS-X for everyone.) Yep. Fun fun fun. :-)

Thing One was the adorable bridesmaid, and she had a lot of fun. It was her first wedding! But that night she got my cold--and so she's miserable too.

The flights home were, in a word, excruciating, because both Thing One's and my sinuses were killing us.Today we're still sick, but taking it easy. It's nice to be home again, but it was even nicer to be with my family for the brief few days we had.

Congratulations, sister of mine! You're a Mrs. now!!!

Oh, and Mr. Woolley, I'm glad you survived--I will be sending you an email shortly!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Well, actually, NOTHING rhymes with Orange. At least, not in the English language. I am so sly and tricky. In the car last night we were "throwing words out there" and the idea was to find a word that rhymed with the "thrown out" word. My kids were doing very well. Until I rememebered something I learned in school, eons ago.

And I won. Because I cheated. Because nothing truly rhymes with "Orange." Was that mean?

So, I need to go buy a dress for my sister's wedding today. I know, I'm a big time procrastinator, and I'm flying out there tomorrow, yadda yadda yadda. I was waiting for the Big Sale, so that's my defense, and I'm sticking to it. (Cassie if you're reading this, take a deep breath, all iswell.)

I've bought some hefty books I've been itching to read, downloaded movies and TV epidodes on my iTouch, and I'm READY for the long flights. Thing One and I are going to have some serious "mommy/daughter" bonding time, and it will be nice, since we butt heads a lot. She seems to think she's older and smarter than me (at age ten, of all things) and I KNOW I'm older and smarter than her, so we are at odds sometimes. This trip will be great for us.

So, here's the bad news, for my one devoted reader. :-) I won't be blogging until I get back, so the blog will return on Tuesday, May 27th.

I know, you're so bummed. I am going to RELAX and not spend a lot of time on the computer. I will be "reconnecting" with the family I haven't seen in years. It's been way too long.

I'm sure Hubby will be texting me every ten minutes or so: Where's the diaper ointment? Does he like Bananas? Are the boys supposed to be playing on your computer?

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Okay, so it's sorta more like three days, but I leave Thursday at noon, so close enough.Did the grocery shopping this morning, Hubby has all the food he needs. Check. Made sure all the baby's clothes are washed, and his needs like diapers, wipes, food, etc. are stocked. Check. Typed up his schedule. Check. Now I just need to bake a cake for my daughter's church activity tonight, back up all my files to my thumb drive, (yes, I still call it a thumb drive, shut up) wash all the clothes we need for the trip, schedule an oil change for Thurs. morning (I'm overdue by about 800 miles) pay some bills, make phone calls, stay on my diet, start packing, type up the menu plan, pick up the kids, take them to soccer, take them to cubs and church...

I'm stopping there. One thing at a time. I'm going to BREATHE now. I can't wait until school's out. Then we'll just have sports to keep the kids busy. We will spend long hours outside, and just have some fun. I am looking forward to the less hectic pace of summer.

I got some writing in last night--it was a total fluke. Hubby wanted to watch tennis, and I was playing around on the computer in the office next door, and I opened one of my files and worked on my story. I got quite a bit in, by 9:30. Go me!

Monday, May 19, 2008

...another birthday, that is. I truly think once you hit your 30's, the birthdays just sort of "fog together." I'm thirty four. Or am I thirty five? Thirty six? Really?Self preservation? Perhaps. The only birthdays I enjoy these days are my kids'. THOSE are fun!

I had a mostly good weekend--Hubby and I saw IRON MAN on Friday night--what a fun blast! I've always had a little "thing" for Robert Downey Jr.--I think it's his eyes. Ever since I first saw those eyes--in the movie Weird Science, I was hooked on him. (Yes, he really WAS in that movie! He was one of the popular dweebs!)

ANYWAY--we saw PRINCE CASPIAN on Saturday. I loved it. It was darker than the first one, but highly entertaining. I haven't read the books (I know, *gasp*) so the movies are fun for me.

I had a great birthday, thanks for the wishes! Of course I spent about 90% of the day in my car, running from one thing to another, but it was a good day.

NOW I have a hellatious three days ahead of me--Thing One and I are leaving town for my baby sister's wedding this Sunday, and Hubby will be alone for five days with the boys--and the baby.I can't help but be excited about it--only because he'll appreciate me more when I get back. Heh heh!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Murphy's Law of the Day:When you don't need something, it's everywhere. As soon as you need it, it's sold out, taken or unavailable.Yeah, I got bitten in the a** by that law, yesterday. But before I launch into my story, I just came from the book fair at my kids' school. (It opened up at 7:30 and we were there bright and early.) I can't stress enough the awesomeness of school book fairs! This time it was BOGO, and so we got NINE books for under $25. How studly is that? My avid little readers are very happy, and so am I. (Of course one of the books was a SpongeBob Squarepants joke book, but oh well). Thing Two likes his jokes.

So yesterday morning, Hubby texts me and asks if I will pick up a half-sheet cake for one of his colleagues, who is leaving. He needed "Best of Luck" written on it.

So, like a complete Moron, I take my sweet time. I know they have tons of half-sheet cakes everywhere, so why am I worried? I had just gotten home from the dentist, was numb to the gills, and frankly, didn 't feel like going anywhere until it wore off.

So, around 1pm, I fed Thing Four, and we went "Bye-bye" (he LOVES to go bye-bye) and I went to the local supermarket.

Nothing. All they had were these little frozen kids cakes and cupcakes. I was annoyed, but I had a few more places I could check.

Next store: Nothing.

Next store: Already had "Happy Birthday" written on every single cake.

Next store: Only had tacky cakes.

(at this point I was thinking WHAT THE HECK??? These places usually have tons of cakes on a normal day!)

So, FINALLY I arrived at my neighborhood Sendik's (gosh I love that place!). They have a To-Die-For Bakery. I get there, absolutely CERTAIN that they will have a half-sheet cake. A little more money than I want to pay, but they'll deliver.

ZERO. ZILCH. NADA. I start to panic. Sam's Club is so far away, and the baby is getting fussy for a nap. So I finally decide I'm going to get TWO quarter-sheet cakes and call it a day. Besides, I can get more variety that way.

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE CAKES HAS WRITING ON IT!!! Then I cheer--one of the cakes at the very back is blank. I pull it out...and wince. It's this white cake with pink frosting decorations with these tacky-flowers with smiley faces on them.

I finally think to hell with it and I take the cake up to the counter, and ask the (very nice) lady if she has any more blank cakes in storage. She goes back to look, and comes out shaking her head. So, being the resourceful person I am, I ask her if she can scrape the "Happy Birthday" off one of the cakes so I will have two of them. She says she absolutely can. She goes to help me pick out another cake, and we find one just as tacky as the flowers, but with butterflies. At this point I'm getting the giggles, at the sheer absurdity of my situation.

I've had it. It will just have to do. The baby is beyond tired at this point, and has begun whimpering, very loudly. So she disappeared behind the counter for a few minutes (I wandered over and bought some sushi for dinner, and the baby and I gawked at the 3000 POUND CHEESE they had at the front of the store, they gave us a sample) and she brought out the cakes, and I thanked her profusely. She even offered a cookie to the baby, who immediately shouted "COOKIE!" and got all excited. Bless her.

DONE. And that night, I told Hubby not ONE WORD about the tacky cakes. He just sort of looked at them for a moment, smiled and thanked me. Smart Hubby. He knows when not to mess with me. :-)

Thursday, May 15, 2008

This is MOMMY'S tub of markers and pencils and crayons. The children are NOT allowed to touch them, use them, or even BREATHE on them.

Harsh, you say? Well, you don't know my kids. I need art stuff for all the song visuals I make to teach songs in Primary on Sundays, and there isn't anything more infuriating, than trying to hunt down markers...one at a time...in several places in the house. Or having my crayons lost. Or my colored pencils all dull and needing sharpening...and lost.

So, I have MY art tub, and they have THEIRS. It has finally come to this. So far so good.

I was at the dentist this morning. I'm still numb. Yuck. I guess I need to floss more--I'm a sporadic flosser, and I had two "between the teeth" cavities.

Oh, and I'm officially a Wisconsinite. I mowed my own lawn yesterday, all by myself. I got out the Cub Cadet and went to town, just like the other moms in our neighborhood do. They all mow the lawn. I used to think that was weird. I guess I needed to start thinking like a Wisconsin Person.

Hubby was surprised, but grateful, because otherwise he would have had to mow the lawn in the dark. It was tempting to let him...the mower does have headlights...

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Yes, believe it or not, there WERE some, not long ago. Remember the NES systems from the 80's?

I've provided a pic to jog your memory. Made by Nintendo, these things are DINOSAURS. I say that because they were made in the mid-eighties and thanks to the magic of Ebay, I was able to purchase one a few years ago with the controllers and gun, PLUS all the games we played as kids. All I had to do was put in a new 72-pin, and it works like a dream. TOTAL DINOSAUR, but they don't make em' like this anymore.

So, which games did we have as kids? Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt (I thought it was SO cool you could point a gun at the TV screen and shoot ducks and clay pots!) Super Mario Brothers II and II, Paperboy, and Simon's Quest.

They were all so...innocent. The graphics were rudimentary at best, but you know what? We loved them. We were SO over the Atari. The Nintendo NES was The Bomb.

So, now I have the NES system hooked up to the TV in the guest room, and my kids love to play it. And frankly, it's a lot better than some of the crap they play on Wii, or their DS's. Cartoon violence? Nope. Rated E for everyone? These didn't need ratings. They're...innocent games.

I still play Simon's Quest with my sons. It's amazing--the music, the different towns and mansions, the "nightime curse"--pure genius. I even giggle a little still whenever we now "PROSESS" Dracula's eyeball, or rib, or whatever random body part we're collecting. :-D (Any of you who have played this game will know what I'm talking about--it's a typo in the game's design)

*Sigh* I miss those days. Another example: my daughter, who is in 4th grade, dresses like a teenager. Granted, she dresses modestly, but she's always worried about "matching" and which shoes go with what outfit, and if she looks "dumb" etc. etc.

In 8th grade I had a purple sweater with a big pink heart knit into the front. And I thought I was cool. I wore high-top white tennis shoes. I had feathered short hair. EGADS!!!

My fourth grader wouldn't be caught dead in anything like that.

Like I said, I miss the 80's. Kids stayed "kids" longer. Now, they're expected to be mini-adults at an early age.

Maybe I'm reminiscing more because I'm about to have a birthday. I don't know. But man, times sure have changed! I see older people walking around shaking their heads, and I used to shake my head at THEM. Now I'm shaking my head too.

Wow, is it Wednesday already? This week is flying. I'm excited because there are NO sports tonight. There probably wouldn't be any anyway--it's pouring outside.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

No, he really is. He wakes up in the morning screeching that high pitched "eee eee eee" sound.

He's a monkey.

He went to the Dr. yesterday for his One Year checkup, and he had to have two shots. :-( BUT THEN, we had to go to the lab for bloodwork. ??? Huh? Is this a new thing? Granted, it's been seven years since I've had a baby, but I don't remember having to go to a lab and have TWO vials of blood taken out of any of my kids arms! It was probably more traumatic for me than him. I had to hold him on my lap, and hold his left arm to his chest, while two nurses held his right arm, and took blood from his little chubby inner arm.

:-( He didn't scream, but he cried like his heart was broken. That, to me, is the worst.

But then a few minutes later we were back in the car and he was jabbering away at the cars outside his window. Thank heaven he didn't blubber all day long. Then again, I'm not one to encourage blubbering. ;-)

Okay, I'm doing a lot of smiley faces in this post. What is up with that?

I'm still babying the shoulder, but the Dr. said it would take about a month to heal. Thanks for all the well wishes. I appreciate them!

Today is a quiet day--I am going to get some research done for the Lost City story, and finish my outline. The characters were talking in my head yesterday. Well, one of them. She just won't shut up.

Time to go tidy the kitchen--today was Tuesday Toast day and there's a LOT of crumbs on the floor! *sigh*

Monday, May 12, 2008

Happy Belated Mother's Day, everyone! Whether you're a mother to children or a child, or a dog or a cat or a hamster, I hope it was a great day. :-)

Hubby made scrumptious meals, as usual, and I didn't lift a finger, which was nice, since I CAN'T LIFT MY DAMN FINGERS ANYWAY BECAUSE OF THIS FERSHLUGGING SHOULDER INJURY!!!

*ahem* Sorry about that. It was my ankle a few weeks ago (which is much better now) and now a shoulder. Either I'm getting old and falling apart, or I'm clumsy (I'm going with the latter). Losing the ability to use the shoulder of the hand you use the most---well, it makes me appreciate my health when I have it. Shoulder injuries suck. Especially when you have active kids who like to be...well...active.

We pre-purchased our tickets to Prince Caspian for this Saturday. Woo! Because of the baby, we have a system--Hubby takes half the kids to the show, and I take the other half, and whoever stays home watches the baby. It works. But it was tricky. Because this Saturday we have an 8am soccer game, a 9am softball practice, a 9:45-noon Primary activity at the church far away, an 11am soccer game, and a 3:30 birthday party. SO, we figured Hubby could take some of the kids at noon, and I'll take the remaining kid at 7pm. Somewhere in there we need to mow our acre yard, which takes 2 hours. Hmmm...it will be interesting for sure!

My life is a circus, and I'm the Juggling Clown Act.

What's funny is (sorry if I get deep and syrupy here) I'm a pretty Garden Variety Mom. We do so much--its not even funny. There are moms out there who are WAY busier than me. And they manage it all beautifully. (I suspect they are medicated, but that's just me.) So every time I talk about how busy I am, I know there are 9372947636253 women out there who are just as busy, if not busier.

But this blog is about me, so there! Heh heh. Speaking of which, I got tagged by Doglover, so here goes:

What was I doing 10 years ago? Working full-time as a Display person for Dillard's, raising my young daughter and pregnant with my first son. Also trying to sell a novel. Hmm.. funny, some things never change... should I take that as a hint?What are 5 Things on my To-Do List for today: Go to my son's Mother's day party at school and take his birthday cupcakes while I'm there, Take two of my kids to the Dr, Grocery shopping, pick up dry cleaning and manage to do all these things with only one working shoulder.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Status: Feeling...dare I say it...better? I don't feel like I'm having labor pains in my shoulder. That's good, folks. Very good. So I'm nervous about the new Indiana Jones movie--since I've talked about it this week. I just saw a trailer on TV last night, and frankly, I'm worried. It appears to me, and maybe it's just me, but it seems the movie is going to follow the typical mold (or modus operandi if you will) of MOST movies--where they find the lost city/ruins/way cool artifact/treasure/etc. and in the end, it GETS DESTROYED.

I've even got evidence to back this up. Hollywood LOVES this plot line. (Warning, the following is full of massive movie spoilers!!!)

Think about it. In the movie "Congo," they discover the coolest Lost City--the city of Zinj, which contains the lost diamond mine of King Solomon. Diamonds the size of my fist are just LYING AROUND--and the whole thing gets destroyed in the end by a volcano. Poof.

In "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"--the awesome place where the Holy Grail was kept gets destroyed because some dumba** takes the Grail past the Great Seal or whatever. Poof.

In the Mummy Returns--the ancient Oasis where the Scorpion King resides gets sucked into some otherworldly vortex of...grass... and you guessed it...Poof.

In National Treasure Book of Secrets--Cibola gets flooded.

Notice a pattern here? They always discover these SUPER cool ruins or lost cities, and they ALWAYS GET DESTROYED IN THE END!!!

Does this seem fair? I can only hope when Indy and his mates discover the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull they don't have some earthquake/volcano/storm/wrath of God natural disaster/Cyclone/etc. mess up the whole thing. That always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Or am I nuts?

I hope Hollywood breaks the mold on this. I guess we'll all see next weekend!

Things Two and Four have their birthdays tomorrow. Yes, they were born on the same day, eight years apart. What are the odds? ;-)

Also, I got tagged by Doglover--so I'll put that in Monday's post. Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Although I must admit I find it strange to see Edward "fly." Why did the moviemakers decide he would FLY? That's what happens when you make a movie out of a book, right?

*serious rolling of the eyes*

I'm not ashamed to admit I drooled over Rob Pattinson as Cedric Diggory--so we'll see what he does with Edward. Although I wish he'd kept his natural British accent. I could see Edward with that. Or am I crazy?

ANYWAY...I think the baby broke a speed record yesterday. Seriously, he's going to be a race car driver someday...or a track star. I set him down on the floor when we came in from the garage, and by the time I went out to the car to grab a bag of groceries and came back in, he was ACROSS THE HOUSE. Speed demon! I mean, this kid BOOKS when he crawls. Of course he has no desire to even stand up, let alone walk, so we need to work on that. :-(

He's currently in his Playpen, happy as a clam, so I can get this post out.

So the Dr. said it's my rotator cuff. I strained it initially, and now I have Tendonitis in it because I aggravated it with all the cleaning. Sucks to be me right now. She gave me Naproxen, and Vicodin.

I have never really had the hard drugs--and I will only take Vicodin to get through the night. So I took it last night for the first time (whimpering because my shoulder hurrrrrt!) and I was laying in bed, whining, and about 20 minutes later, the pain left my shoulder and I felt like I was floating above the bed, like that chick in The Excorcist. (Don't ask me when I saw that movie, it's way mortifying to admit!) It was a funky feeling. I felt dizzy and floatey, and I was definitely still on the bed.

NO VICODIN DURING THE DAY FOR LARA! Heh heh. The dr. said I could see how it affected me, and I've come to the conclusion that I could sail the car off a cliff and not realize it. So it will be Ibuprofen during the day for moi.

I am getting a little frustrated with the "invitees" of Thing Two's party. Some of them just aren't RSVP'ing. I mean, people, it's a party. It's not that big a deal. Just pick up the phone and say "yes" or "no." It's not that hard. I won't come to your house with a small bunch of villagers with pitchforks and torches, if your son or daughter can't come. I just need a frigging headcount...UGH!

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Okay, now, usually I don't buy crap cereals. We buy Kashi, Honey-nut Cheerios, and oatmeal. Once in a great while, I'll buy Reese's Puff cereal, because the kids (and Hubby) love it.

So I'm in the grocery store last night, killing time while my two oldest were in Cubs and church activities at the church down the road, and I find this cereal.

Let me explain: My family is ALL ABOUT Indiana Jones. We are obsessed. My kids choose to watch the movies over most of their other movies. Even Harry Potter comes in second to Indiana. And naturally, we are all fainting over the release of the movie this month.

So, I bought the cereal. Sure, it's basically Cocoa Puffs frankensteined with Lucky Charms marshmallows, in the shape of crystal skulls, Indy's hat, and various other things. But you have to admit, it's pretty cool. I bought two boxes. The kids ate some this morning, and loved it. I like the little "skull marshmallows." How cool can you get?

They sure know how to get us moms!

I am going to the Dr. this morning for my shoulder. I discovered a deep bruise on the back of my shoulder yesterday. I don't remember hitting or hurting it--so I might have torn something and it bled inside? I don't know. All I do know is I'm in mortal pain still, and I'm chugging 800 milligrams of Ibuprofen at regular intervals to keep the devil at bay.

OUCH.

Hubby comes home tonight. He's going to be dog tired. I at least got some sleep last night. Tonight is a slow night--Thing One has sofball practice and that's it. It feels weird. I feel like I should have...five more things or so going on tonight! Heh heh. NOT.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Well, I finished it. The house was perfect (except for a few closets) as of 10am yesterday. The builder brought all his people through, and he even had a few "thank you" gifts for me. He was very nice, and thanked me for keeping the house up so nicely. Heh heh. It's called PAINT and good old-fashioned ELBOW GREASE.

Or more like shoulder grease. I am going to the Dr. tomorrow morning--my left shoulder hurts so badly I can't do anything with it. It hurts to drive. It hurts to type (I had a horse-sized Ibuprofen pill an hour ago so typing right now is OK) it hurts to lift my arm in any way, and it hurts so badly at night I can't sleep. It even hurts to just let the arm hang down. So, something is clearly up. And the pain is NOT bearable. It really hurts. Hopefully I haven't torn something with all the scrubbing and mopping and lifting and stuff that I did. I am left-handed, so it would make sense. We'll see! Tomorrow can't come soon enough.

Hubby is still in Idaho helping out with his mom, which is a 24/7 job. He's just as exhausted as I am. We're a pair, aren't we?

So I've got another story idea percolating in my brain. It's actually a new take on an old idea, and I'm trying to figure out how to make it work. AND I've been wanting to work on my OTHER idea, which I'm struggling with because, once again, I haven't been to South America, and that's where it's set. I have to do massive research.

I love Google. When I make up a word, I Google it and if it doesn't come back with any matches, I always know I made the word up first. (Once or twice I make up a word and someone else has made it up, and that stinks.)

My make-believe Creatures I made up in college are still my own, thankfully. I Googled them the other night, and the only two hits I got were from MY website. So no one else has "made up" that name yet. Warm fuzzies.Long day today--luckily Thing One's book club is over now, so we just have soccer practices and cub scouts. The tricky part is fitting dinner in during the half hour I have to travel between 6:30 and 7 pm to the church for their activities. And eating dinner beforehand isn't an option--they get tummy aches from all the running around. So, it's basically turned into a "fast food" night, and I hate that. But what can I do? Suggestions?

Well, time to play with the baby with my one good arm. THAT will be interesting...

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Friday, May 02, 2008

Status: Feeling very awake. Of course the two Cherry Coke Zeros I chugged after breakfast might have something to do with it...

I know I'm working too hard/moving too fast/not getting enough sleep when I have to use drugs to keep me awake. No, not the bad drugs. Just caffiene. I'm usually not a caffeine person. It makes me jittery and sweaty and...giggly. And I still have crystal clear memories of the one time I OD'd on No Doz during a road trip (eleven years ago) and I was SICK. Yuck.

So, I'm usually light on the caffeine. Heh heh. Not today. I'm in POWER MODE. I have been neglecting important things in leiu of cleaning. I want my house to SHINE. Even the closets. And I will kill myself to do it. I'm on a MISSION.

Then, afterwards, I can fall apart and relax and neglect the laundry for another two weeks. My kids have enough socks. They'll make it through. ;-)

So, the baby's new "obsession" is the word "Ball." Well, he's obsessed with them. Anything spherical in shape, is a treat. He wakes up in the morning, and I pick him up out of his crib and the first word out of his mouth is "Ball?" We go downstairs and he'll see the Bosu and stability balls in our workout room (those send him into fits of joy) and he gets very excited. Actually, any time he sees a ball he has to have it. He has to hold it. He has to eat it.

He's SO funny! Soccer balls are his favorite (I suspect the black and white contrast make them appealing) but I don't like it when he wants to chew on them. Yuck. Softballs, baseballs, bouncy balls, tennis balls, you name it. He's OBSESSED.

"Ball?"

It's too cute. But the BEST was when he pointed to a very pregnant woman in our church on Sunday and said "BALL!"

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Okay, Devon, I tried the butcher paper. Small Problem. We have windows all the way around our basement--he just went over to the one on the right. He's "thunking" against it right now!! Ha ha! So maybe he's a "smart" stupid bird???

Sheesh.

Happy May 1st everyone! Ohmygosh I'd better get Thing Two's birthday party invitations out. And pay bills. And get going on the laundry. But first I have to run to the cleaners and buy paint. The drywall guy is coming over today and after he fixes the cracks--I am going to smile and bat my eyelashes and offer up the paint can. Okay, I'm kidding about the eyelashes thing. Maybe I can pull the "I'm-Crazy-Busy-off-my-butt-and-if-you-don't-help-Me-I'll-slash-all-the-tires-on-your-truck" tack...we'll see.

Oh and I have to mow the lawn. I'd better get to that--since it's going to RAIN the next few days. Supposedly. Hubby might dash down to Idaho because his mother isn't doing so hot. Which means I get to do the lawn before it starts looking like The Amazon.

As for Hubby's mother--you know how they say "attitude is everything?" Well apparently her attitude isn't that great. Last night she was "bidding farewell" to her husband and telling everyone she'd had a good life. Luckily her son and his wife came over and told her to get her butt out of bed and take 20 steps. The more steps she takes, the faster she can get out of the hospital. The surgery went fine--she just needs to have the right attitude to recover. :-)

*American Idol Spoilers ahead!!!***

Okay, I was sad to see Brooke go. She wasn't the best talent in the program, but she was genuinely sweet and good. I was SEETHING that Jason Castro didn't get kicked off--he's never been serious about this competition from day one--and his "beaming" act during Brooke's messy exit song last night lost respect points for me. So it's down to three. I do like David Cook. Although his "whew I'm safe" reaction every week is getting old. Of course Drama Club Fetus Archaleta (or whatever his name is) has ceased to be "cute" for me too. All his songs sound the same. I'm rooting for Sayesha!! HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

Okay, I'm mad at Hubby for watching AI. It sucks you in.....otherwise, I scoff at all other reality TV. IT's not "real" anymore.